


The Gloom

by Parni1380



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Apocalypse, Character Death, Curses, M/M, Not Really Character Death, Post-Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:20:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23699908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parni1380/pseuds/Parni1380
Summary: It all happens when noone is expecting it. The sky flashes dark for a second, as the darkness takes some people away.
Relationships: Javier Fernández/Yuzuru Hanyu
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Junliet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Junliet/gifts).



> It's terribly late, and I'm really really reallyyy sorry but, happy birthday! @junliet  
> I'm sorry if it's a bit dark themed and 'gloomy'. But believe me, it would've been even worse if Srir4tu had not helped me with it. So, big thanks to Srir4tu as well! Love you♡
> 
> So... I hope you all like it! [Specially Junliet]

It all happened when noone was expecting it. There was a sudden flash of darkness in the sky, and then, some tendrils of pitch black came down from high up in the skies, like some sort of twisted lightning. Only that it wasn't anything light. Just utter, pure darkness. No, they were not lightnings. But they were just as fast.

And as the tendrils reached the ground, they didn't hit trees or lightning rods. Instead, they hit people. And not everyone, either. It was like they chose who to hit. A mother was hit, even though her daughter by her side wasn't. A 3 year old boy was hit, but his father who was carrying him on the back of his neck wasn't.

And as quickly as it all happened, it left the streets of the world full of fallen bodies. Bodies, that had dark marks all over them. Like they had a black ivy twisting itself over their limbs, their chests, their necks, and their faces.

Yuzuru, who was on the bus on his way home when it happened, saw those bodies fall down one by one on the street, just a few feet away from him. The bus had an abrupt stop when a young girl barely older than 16 fell down just in front of it. And no matter how everyone was terrified and were trying to run away somewhere safe, Yuzuru just could not stand there and watch innocent people fall down in the middle of the streets that were still full of cars. And not everyone was lucky enough like the girl in front of their bus. They might have gotten hit by a car or worse. So, he rushed out of the bus, running towards the first person he saw lying defenseless on the ground, and tried to haul them out to the streetside.

Would he still have done it if someone had told him that the person was already dead? Would he still have done it if someone told him that touching them would make the black ivy tendrils on their skin start moving, and making their way to his skin as well? Would he still have done it if he knew he would be cursed to the same unfortunate destiny as them? He does not know. And to be honest, he does not _care_.

He isn't alive enough to care. But actually, he's not fully dead either. He lives in murk and shadow, cold as the alleys of stone. He's like a blur in the window. A prisoner of the underworld.

He watches life from the Gloom, the name the living people have given to the state of life in which the victims of the Curse live.

He watches as some people calling themselves Telesmians come out of nowhere, and say that the accident that's happened all over the world, killing thousands of people, is actually an ancient curse. Something that they've known about all along, but had not known when would happen, or how they could've stopped it.

He watches as they explain how the Curse works to all people of the world. How it was designed to hit every unsheltered pure soul. A soul that has had near to no sins to stain it. And how the people who were brave enough to touch the bodies of the Pure(that's what they call people like Yuzuru now, the Pure) would be considered a pure soul as well, and thus get the same fate.

He watches as they explain how the people who made this curse desired to make a world only for the Pure. A world that no sin existed in. So, the Curse didn't _kill_ the Pure, they said. It just transferred them to a hidden place, somewhere outside of their bodies and the physical world, where they would form a better world, empty of all sin.

Or, well, it was _supposed_ to work like that. But apparently, the ancient people have went wrong somewhere. And the Telesmians claim that they've known all along that the perfect world the ancient people were dreaming of was not going to happen. And that's why they've named it the Curse in the first place. Because instead of a new place to start a better world in, the souls of the Pure would've just ended up in a shadow of what the actual world was, and live in a state of eternal awareness without the ability to do anything at all. A ghost-like state that they called _the Gloom_.

So, he watches life from the Gloom. The friends he lost, and lovers too. He watches Javi in Spain. How he breaks down everytime while hearing the Telesmians talk. How he nearly decides to just throw himself on a Pure's body in the streets of Madrid to join Yuzu in the Gloom. But his parents and Laura manage to keep him at home long enough until the government cleans all the streets off the Pure's bodies, using special hightech machines that don't get affected by the Curse. He watches as Javi takes out the ring he had bought for him every single night, and says out loud, with tears in his eyes, that he wishes he never waited so long. That he wishes he had proposed him sooner. That he wishes he was there with him when it happened. That he could at least say _goodbye_.

He watches his family in Japan. How they go every single day to the fake empty grave they've made for him(because the bodies of the Pure are all buried deep in concrete somewhere near the city they've died in, which means Toronto, for Yuzu). How his mother cries and screams and screams and screams until she nearly passes out every night. He watches as his father, ever the strong presence in their home, ages 10 years in the span of weeks, with his hair turning white and wrinkles appearing all over his face, because he's feeling heavily guilty for not being present in his son's life enough. He watches as Saya tries to show herself as strong as she can, so that their parents can have someone to hold onto, when they can't hold onto themselves. But, deep in the nights, when she's sure noone would hear her, she also cries and sobs. Muttering apologies for every single thing she had and had not done for Yuzu.

He watches the skating world, the simple life he once knew, before the cursed darkness consumed. He watches as more and more skaters pay tribute to him the next season, by either skating to his programs, or to something about the Gloom. After all, he's the only skater who has entered the Gloom.

He watches over TCC. How Brian stands under the Japanese flag(still hung there because of their other Japanese skaters) every morning, lost in thoughts and years of memory. Of moments of victory, and of defeat. Of all their efforts together, and their results. He watches as Tracy often catches Brian staring at Yuzu's Olympic plaques in the middle of a practice session. How she doesn't even try to stop him, and they both share a few good minutes of painful silence, while everyone else in the rink, Zhenya, Jun, Jason, and even younger ones like Katya, stop their practices and join them.

He watches his other friends, Nobu, Shoma, Keiji, and even his rivals, Nathan, Patrick, and Daisuke, break into tears with the smallest mention of his name, his program musics, even of Pooh. He knows Saya is taking good care of his Pooh. He knows his oldest and most loyal yellow friend is sitting on the bed that was used to be his. In his old room that his mom still cleans every week, keeping it just like it was when Yuzuru was alive.

He watches the competitions. He sees how almost noone is as happy and hyped as they used to be. Noone skates fun programs anymore. Noone laughs or screams when they break their personal best, or win, or even break a world record. But instead, everyone cries, and stays silent, when one after another tribute to him is performed. And after each of them, the fans raise their huge black banners, with his pictures on them. ' _The Short Lived Legend_ ', ' _The Taken Angel_ ', ' _The Prisoner of the Dark_ ', and many many more things written on those banners, both in English and Japanese. He also watches the gala. There are no more Superman or Barbie Girl programs. No more fooling around in the finale either. Just an arena heavy with something deeper than the previous fun. Like the whole sport is grieving him. And the hundreds of candles held alight in the audience helps brighten the arena, but does nothing to brighten the mood.

And sometimes, after the competitions, he follows those holding the banners and the candles. Follows them to their hotels, and to the airport, and back to their homes. He feels a bit guilty about it, but he sneaks into their phones and laptops when they're using them. That way, he sees the how the internet also, is not how it used to be. His fanpages no longer post pictures of his ass, or his waist. They no longer argue about his scores, or how his jumps were better than those of his rivals. They no longer write fanfiction, no longer make memes, and no longer laugh about the silly things he'd done before. Instead, they stay silent, or post video edits with sad themes. Even the ones featuring his laughs are fused with a background music to make it sound like a shadow of a laughter, not a real one.

He watches and watches, on and on, because there isn't much else he can do. It isn't like he can communicate with others in the Gloom anyways. He has seen a couple of people, of course. Lost and looking ghostly pale and somehow transparent, just like himself. But they've all been too lost in their own minds, like him, to come by and say hi. Because as they say, every clock is broken, and every step is hopeless, living in the Gloom.

_And he watches life from the Gloom_

_Friends he lost, and lovers too_

_That simple life he once knew_

_Before the cursed dark consumed_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you have noticed, the first chapter was Yuzu's POV from the things that happened to him in the Gloom.
> 
> We'll see the take of Yuzu's mother, Yumi, on these events as well, in the next chapter.
> 
> Hope you liked it till here!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yumi will never forget the day it happened.

Yumi will never forget the day it happened. Will never forget as she saw the sudden flash of dark that filled the sky from the window. Will never forget the screams of horror she heard from down in the sreet in front of their apartment in Toronto.

She will never forget her worries about his son, Yuzuru, who was supposed to be coming back from practice in that hour of the day. Will never forget how she frantically called Yuzu's number over and over and over again, only to hear those words that Yuzuru had recorded a few years ago when he bought his phone, again and again. "Hiiii, this is Yuzu! If I'm not answering is probably because I'm on the ice or sleeping. I'll call you back soon! Bye byeee."

She will never forget how she nearly jumped a 3A worth of height when her phone rang, with Yuzuru's contact showing on the screen. She won't forget the hope and relief she felt for the briefest moment before she answered the phone. She won't forget how her whole body went ice cold and she went paler and paler as the man on the phone explained what had happened.

She will never forget how she got dressed and got herself to the location they sent for her in the speed of light. She will never forget that scene on the street, yellow danger tapes wrapped around certain areas in the street, like all the other streets she had driven in on that day. In each danger taped area, was a body, pale and with black marks running along their skin.

And she will _never_ forget Yuzuru's body. Collapsed just next to the body of a teenage boy and his fallen bicycle beside him. His ANA jacket covered most of his skin but the bits visible on his hands, fingers, and face, were all marked with the same black streaks on other bodies. Like a black willow or ivy wraping itself up over his body, and sucking all life out it. All the shine gone from his skin, and his eyes that were wide open then. ' _Are still wide open now._ ' She thinks, as she looks at the body of his son, laying on a bed with glass covering.

She looks at the body of his son, the son she's sacrificed so much for, and thinks. She thinks of all the things she'd done to make him who he was, before the Curse. And all the things she had to do to keep him by her side, after the Curse.

She thinks of the night of the Cursed day. Still in a shock by everything that had happened, she was in Tracy's home. Tracy, who had helped calm her down, telling him that everything was going to be ok. That they didn't know anything yet. They didn't know if Yuzu was dead or just unconcious. Tracy, who answered Yumi's phone calls instead of her, taking the burdun of telling the story to everyone. Tracy, who was by her side as some weird men in dark long robes appeared on the TV, claiming that they knew everything about that disaster. Tracy, who held her in her arms as she finally broke down in tears when those men calling themselves Telesmians explained the nature of the Curse, and how it killed the body of the Pure, but kept their conscious alive.

She thinks of the day they called her, nearly three days after the Cursed day, to come over to a remote location they'd sent her, and hold a 'funeral' for his son. She remembers going there, a deserted place 15km outside of the city, and seeing a big concrete hole dug deep into the ground. She remembers seeing the metalic coffins on the side of the hole, with four of the Telesmians standing next to them. She remembers seeing the concrete mixer machines and the crane, ready to put the coffins in that 6 meters deep hole, and cover them up in concrete.

She thinks about the sudden anger that had filled her, the spark of confidence as she made her way through the crowd, and right to those Telesmians, arguing them. Fighting and screaming and telling them they can't just bury his son like this in a land so far away from his home. She thinks about how the Telesmians dragged her farther away from the crowd, telling her they would do what she wanted, but they couldn't let other people know about it. Or else, they'd want the same.

She remembers as they escorted her to a military airport after the burying finished, and put her and Yuzuru's metalic coffin(which she checked its inside to make sure they weren't fooling her) on a cargo plane and sent them back to Japan.

She remembers that as soon as she got down from the plane, she was met with more of the Telesmians, explaining to her that she couldn't let anyone know of the thing that had happened. Because if word went out that a Pure's body was moved all the way from Canada to Japan, everyone would want the same for their beloved, and then it would be chaos. And because the group burials in Japan had already finished, she had no other way but to keep the body. She remembers as the Telesmians agreed to buy her a place to keep Yuzuru after she told them she didn't have place that her husband didn't know about.

And now, sitting in the biggest room of the cottage they had bought for her, just outside of Sendai, she looks at her son's body through the glass.

"I know you're not dead, Yuzu. You're just asleep. A deep, eternal, _sleep_." She mutters the words that she had said in the press conference as well, just a week ago, on the first anniversary of the Curse.

She takes a glance at the clock on the other side of the room. "They should be here anytime now." She says and turns back to Yuzu. "Are you excited, Yuzu? Everyone are going to meet you today. There will be Tousan, Saya, Brian, Tracy, Ghislain, most of your teammates, and of course, your favourite, _Javi_." She tries to say Javi's name just like Yuzuru did, Habi.

"You're not gonna be left alone out here anymore. We're gonna make a new eternal bed for you, right? Like everyone else's eternal beds. Not out here on the mountain, you know?" She takes another look at Yuzuru's body, dressed in a fine ane fitting tuxedo.

"This tuxedo suits you _so well_. It was worth the risk of putting it on you." She smiles at the unseeing eyes of her son, as she thinks about how she wore thick plastic hazmat suits and started changing Yuzuru's ANA jacket(that had been on him for the whole year) to the tuxedo he is wearing now.

"Oh, by the way, did I tell you how it all happened? How suddenly, I'm not the only one knowing about you being here anymore?" She pauses a bit, as if waiting for Yuzuru to answer.

"Oh you're right, of course I didn't. Silly me forgot that I haven't come here for nearly two weeks! Exactly since I messed up, and now the whole world knows that Yuzuru Hanyu has been in Japan the whole year." Another pause, and another look to his eyes.

"You know, I've been wanting to make a proper grave for you since forever." Her voice wavers a little on the mention of the grave.

"I was the one who brought you to this world, and I should be- no, I _will_ be, the one who escorts you to your eternal place. Right, Yuzu?" A longer pause.

"Oh, you want to know how I messed up? Well, you know, I saw that it would be _really_ inappropriate if I was the only person present in your funeral, right? So, I thought I should tell some people. Like, _really_ close people, about it. So, I told your Tousan and Saya, Obasan and Ojisan, Tracy, Brian, and Javi. All close people, you see? But..." She sighs.

"Silly me, forgot to tell them it was top secret, and... here we are." She shrugs, as if Yuzu can see her.

"You know, I had forgotten how many fans you have. Like, it literally was like one of the kids at TCC heard Brian and Tracy talking about it, told one of her other friends, the friend told one of your fan accounts on instagram, and boom, suddenly the whole world knew." She takes a short pause, and then lets out a small laugh and continues, "I actually gave a press conference and several interviews about all this. Can you believe it?! For a moment, I thought I was you after Pyeongchang!"

She turns to take a look at the clock again when the doorbell rings.

"Oh, here they come!" 

And she stands up to go get the door.

Standing out of the doorway, are a group of at least 30 people, all of whom Yumi knows and has trusted enough to give the address of this place to. This time remembering to tell them it's top secret. There will be two Telesmians here in an hour to do the bed-to-coffin transfer safely, and then they'll all head to the Maruyama cemetery, a small local cemetery just 10 minutes away from Sendai ice rink, to lead Yuzuru to his eternal bed.

But first, all of these people here who have come from literally all over the world, will get to say goodbye. So, she leads them all in, and tries to smile, even though everyone else is wearing a grim expression.

She brings them to Yuzuru's room, and anyone who enters the room takes a sharp breath, and all but starts to cry. The sound of them crying finally breaks Yumi's carefully built shields, and she finds herself crying in her husband's arms as he cries as well. It goes on like this for a few minutes, before Brian gathers himself and goes ahead, saying his goodbyes. After that it's Saya, and Zhenya, and Ghislain, and Shoma, and Javi's sister Laura, and everyone else, until everyone's said their goodbyes but one person. One person who's been standing in the corner all along, a deep frown on his face. One person that Yuzu held dearest among all his other friends. And with everybody's eyes on him, waiting for him to say his goodbyes, Javier moves towards the bed, carefully sitting on the chair in front of it.

He leans his forehead and right hand on the glass and whispers, "It's been hell without you, Yuzu. I can't... I can't do this without you, anymore. I love you Yuzu. Gosh, I love you so much. And I miss you, and I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when it happened. I swear, Yuzu, that I will _never_ leave you again."

He turns to look at his family in crowd, mouthing ' _I'm sorry_ ', before turning back to Yuzuru and do something that leaves everyone in shock.

He holds the glass covering of the bed by the edges, and throws it over to the other side of the bed, making it shatter to a thousand small pieces. And before anyone notices what's going on, he brings his hand forth, and takes Yuzuru's in his. The black swirls on Yuzuru's skin start climbing up his fingers in a blink of an eye, going higher and higher on his arms and spread across his chest, as he slowly turns pale and collapse on top of _Yuzuru's_ body, leaving his family, his coaches, his teammates, and everyone else in the room screaming.

But suddenly, a sharp sharp inhale of breath comes from the direction of the bed, and right after that a vigorous coughing is heard, and everyone in the room goes silent again, listening, and watching, as the body on the bed, Yuzuru's body, rack with waves of coughs.

The marks, that have been on his skin for more than a year, slowly start to fade. And everyone in the room stays completely still, as if it's all a dream, and they'll wake up if they move even a fraction of an inch. So instead of moving, they watch. They watch as Yuzuru finally closes his eyes, and groans.

"Heavyyy." He whines. His voice is barely louder than a whisper, but that still makes everyone in the crowd gasp. Though he doesn't seem to notice. He moves his left hand a bit higher, and touches Javi's hair.

"Oh, Habiii! Get up! You are so heavy!" He whines again, this time louder, and opens his eyes.

The first thing he sees is Javi's hand on his chest, unmoving, pale, and full of black marks all around. And as if the marks push a switch in his head, the memories of the last year start flooding his mind and he starts to panic. His eyes go impossibly wide, and he goes even paler than he was when his soul was away.

"Oh my god Habi... Habi, what have you done?! Stupid Habi... _why_ did you do it? What's the point if I come back and you just go, Habi..? Wake up.. please wake up, Habi. Please..."

He tries to push Javi from the top of him to be able to take a better look at his face. But he fails and just holds Javi tightly in his arms and starts to cry. "You can't just leave me here, Habi. You can't... I can't... I can't do it without you, too, Habi... please.. please wake up. Don't leave me Habi.. I love you too... Habi I love you too.. just please..."

The crowd, still too shocked to move, watch as Yuzu cries out more and more, sounding more out of breath with every passing second, until it feels like he's barely breathing at all.

And standing right there, while noone can see, is Javier's soul. Watching the whole event from the Gloom. Just like Yuzuru had been doing so for a whole year. He watches as Yuzuru's breathing gets out of rhythm, and he struggles for each ounce of air. And all those 36 people in that room look like they're under a spell, none of them moves even to help Yuzuru, who's on a verge of an asthma attack.

So, he does the only thing he can think of, and focuses all the willpower he has on his hand. Not the hand of the ghostly figure of his soul, no. He wills the hand of his _body_ to move. And to add to the impossible events of that day, it works.

It works, and everyone in the room watches as the marks on Javi's skin fade, and he starts to breathe again. Shortly after, his left hand reaches up to hold on Yuzu's cheek as he pulls himself upright. Looking right through Yuzu's eyes he whispers, "Hey! Hey Yuzu, I'm here, ok? Try to just breathe with me, ok? We go on my count, right? In through your nose. That's it. Now, hold for five. One, two, three, four, five. And let out. Yes Yuzu, just like that, love. Breathe with me. Just breathe for me."

And ever so slowly, Yuzuru's breathing turns back to normal, and he all but throws himself in Javi's arms, clutching tightly to his shirt. "I... I thought I'd never be able to hug you again, Habi. I-I thought I lost you again.."

"Shhhh, it's fine now, Yuzu. You're fine." Javi whispers, and put a finger under Yuzuru's chin, tilting his head up so that their eyes meet.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Habi!"

And just like that, they kiss each other, in front of all and everyone in the room. All of whom have seen too many impossible shit happen in a matter of minutes. And finally, someone in the crowd mutters, "D-Did everyone else just see everything else I saw..? I-Is he- Are they both... _alive_?"

"Yes we are!" Yuzuru breaks the kiss just in time to say, and the 36 people that were dead still and silent the whole time, just all scream and immerge towards them like a tsunami wave, doing the most imotional weird group hug the skating world's ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, just a little something about the whole story: It was inspired by Karilene's song named "Gloom" and I outright used some parts of her lyrics in Yuzu's POV. You can find the sound here:  
> https://youtu.be/xs0m7wz6CZI
> 
>   
> By the way, I hope you've all enjoyed it. Happy late birthday again to Junliet♡
> 
> And oh, there will be an epilogue in this as well, later on.


End file.
